1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to economic sanctions related to Sudan; |
3 | providing legislative findings; providing definitions; |
4 | requiring the State Board of Administration to identify |
5 | all companies doing certain types of business in or with |
6 | Sudan in which public moneys are invested; requiring the |
7 | board to create and maintain a Scrutinized Company List |
8 | which names all such companies; requiring the board to |
9 | periodically contact all scrutinized companies and |
10 | encourage them to refrain from engaging in certain types |
11 | of business in or with Sudan; requiring the board to |
12 | inform scrutinized companies of their status as a |
13 | scrutinized company and to ask for clarification as to the |
14 | nature of each company's business activities; providing |
15 | that a company may be removed from the list under certain |
16 | conditions; providing for reintroduction of a company onto |
17 | the list; requiring the board to divest of all publicly |
18 | traded securities of a scrutinized company under certain |
19 | conditions; providing exceptions to the divestment |
20 | requirement; prohibiting the board from acquiring |
21 | securities of scrutinized companies that have active |
22 | business operations; providing exceptions to the |
23 | investment prohibition; providing an additional exception |
24 | from the divestment requirement and the investment |
25 | prohibition to certain indirect holdings in actively |
26 | managed investment funds; requiring the board to request |
27 | that the managers of such investment funds consider |
28 | removing scrutinized companies from the fund or create a |
29 | similar fund that excludes such companies; requiring the |
30 | board to file a report with the Governor, the Legislature, |
31 | and Attorney General within a specified period after |
32 | creation of the Scrutinized Company List; requiring the |
33 | annual filing of an updated report; requiring that all |
34 | such reports be made available to the public; requiring |
35 | that the report include certain information; providing for |
36 | the expiration of the act; exempting the board from |
37 | certain statutory or common law obligations; authorizing |
38 | the board to cease divesting or to reinvest in certain |
39 | scrutinized companies if the value for all assets under |
40 | management by the board becomes equal to or less than a |
41 | specified amount; requiring the board to provide a written |
42 | report to the Governor, the Legislature, and Attorney |
43 | General before such reinvestment; requiring that the |
44 | report contain certain information; requiring semiannual |
45 | updates to such reports when applicable; requiring the |
46 | Attorney General to enforce the divestment requirements |
47 | and investment prohibitions; authorizing the Attorney |
48 | General to bring enforcement actions in court through any |
49 | lawful designee; providing for severability; providing an |
50 | effective date. |
51 |
|
52 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
53 |
|
54 | Section 1. (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.-- |
55 | (a) On July 23, 2004, the United States Congress declared |
56 | that "the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide." |
57 | (b) On September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. |
58 | Powell told the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee |
59 | that "genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in |
60 | Darfur" and "the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear |
61 | responsibility." |
62 | (c) On September 21, 2004, addressing the United Nations |
63 | General Assembly, President George W. Bush affirmed the |
64 | Secretary of State's finding and stated, "At this hour, the |
65 | world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in |
66 | the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded |
67 | are genocide." |
68 | (d) On December 7, 2004, the United States Congress noted |
69 | that the genocidal policy in Darfur has led to reports of |
70 | "systematic rape of thousands of women and girls, the abduction |
71 | of women and children, and the destruction of hundreds of |
72 | ethnically African villages, including the poisoning of their |
73 | wells and the plunder of their crops and cattle upon which the |
74 | people of such villages sustain themselves." |
75 | (e) Also on December 7, 2004, Congress found that "the |
76 | Government of Sudan has restricted access by humanitarian and |
77 | human rights workers to the Darfur area through intimidation by |
78 | military and security forces, and through bureaucratic and |
79 | administrative obstruction, in an attempt to inflict the most |
80 | devastating harm on those individuals displaced from their |
81 | villages and homes without any means of sustenance or shelter." |
82 | (f) On September 25, 2006, Congress reaffirmed that "the |
83 | genocide unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan is |
84 | characterized by acts of terrorism and atrocities directed |
85 | against civilians, including mass murder, rape, and sexual |
86 | violence committed by the Janjaweed and associated militias with |
87 | the complicity and support of the National Congress Party-led |
88 | faction of the Government of Sudan." |
89 | (g) On September 26, 2006, the United States House of |
90 | Representatives stated that "an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 |
91 | people have been killed by the Government of Sudan and its |
92 | Janjaweed allies since the crisis began in 2003, more than |
93 | 2,000,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and more |
94 | than 250,000 people from Darfur remain in refugee camps in |
95 | Chad." |
96 | (h) The Darfur crisis represents the first time the United |
97 | States Government has labeled ongoing atrocities as genocide. |
98 | (i) The Federal Government has imposed sanctions against |
99 | the Government of Sudan since 1997. These sanctions are |
100 | monitored through the United States Treasury Department's Office |
101 | of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). |
102 | (j) According to a former chair of the United States |
103 | Securities and Exchange Commission, "the fact that a foreign |
104 | company is doing material business with a country, government, |
105 | or entity on OFAC's sanctions list is, in the SEC staff's view, |
106 | substantially likely to be significant to a reasonable |
107 | investor's decision about whether to invest in that company." |
108 | (k) Since 1993, the United States Secretary of State has |
109 | determined that Sudan is a country whose government has |
110 | repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, |
111 | and, as a result, the United States has restricted assistance, |
112 | defense exports, defense sales, financial transactions, and |
113 | various other transactions with the Government of Sudan. |
114 | (l) A 2006 report by United States House of |
115 | Representatives states that "a company's association with |
116 | sponsors of terrorism and human rights abuses, no matter how |
117 | large or small, can have a materially adverse result on a public |
118 | company's operations, financial condition, earnings, and stock |
119 | prices, all of which can negatively affect the value of an |
120 | investment." |
121 | (m) In response to the financial risk posed by investments |
122 | in companies doing business with a state that sponsors |
123 | terrorists, the Securities and Exchange Commission established |
124 | its Office of Global Security Risk to provide for enhanced |
125 | disclosure of material information regarding such companies. |
126 | (n) The current Sudan divestment movement encompasses |
127 | nearly 100 universities, municipalities, states, and private |
128 | pension plans. |
129 | (o) Companies facing such widespread divestment present |
130 | further material risk to remaining investors. |
131 | (p) It is a fundamental responsibility of the State of |
132 | Florida to decide where, how, and by whom financial resources in |
133 | its control should be invested, taking into account numerous |
134 | pertinent factors. |
135 | (q) It is the prerogative and desire of the State of |
136 | Florida with respect to investment resources in its control and |
137 | to the extent reasonable, with due consideration for return on |
138 | investment on behalf of the state and its investment |
139 | beneficiaries, not to participate in an ownership or capital- |
140 | providing capacity with entities that provide significant |
141 | practical support for genocide, including certain non-United |
142 | States companies presently doing business in Sudan. |
143 | (r) The Legislature finds that this act should remain in |
144 | effect only insofar as it continues to be consistent with and |
145 | does not unduly interfere with the foreign policy of the United |
146 | States as determined by the Federal Government. |
147 | (s) The Legislature finds that mandatory divestment of |
148 | public funds from certain companies is a measure that should be |
149 | employed sparingly and judiciously. A Congressional and |
150 | Presidential declaration of genocide satisfies this high |
151 | threshold. |
152 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this act, the term: |
153 | (a) "Active business operations" means all business |
154 | operations that are not inactive business operations. |
155 | (b) "Business operations" means engaging in commerce in |
156 | any form in Sudan, including, but not limited to, acquiring, |
157 | developing, maintaining, owning, selling, possessing, leasing, |
158 | or operating equipment, facilities, personnel, products, |
159 | services, personal property, real property, or any other |
160 | apparatus of business or commerce. |
161 | (c) "Company" means any sole proprietorship, organization, |
162 | association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited |
163 | partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability |
164 | company, or other entity or business association, including all |
165 | wholly owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent |
166 | companies, or affiliates of such entities or business |
167 | associations, which exists for the purpose of making profit. |
168 | (d) "Complicit" means taking actions during any preceding |
169 | 20-month period which have directly supported or promoted the |
170 | genocidal campaign in Darfur, including, but not limited to, |
171 | preventing Darfur's victimized population from communicating |
172 | with each other, encouraging Sudanese citizens to speak out |
173 | against an internationally approved security force for Darfur, |
174 | actively working to deny, cover up, or alter the record on human |
175 | rights abuses in Darfur, or other similar actions. |
176 | (e) "Direct holdings" in a company means all securities of |
177 | that company which are held directly by the Public Fund or in an |
178 | account or fund in which the Public Fund owns all shares or |
179 | interests. |
180 | (f) "Government of Sudan" means the government in |
181 | Khartoum, Sudan, which is led by the National Congress Party, |
182 | formerly known as the National Islamic Front, or any successor |
183 | government formed on or after October 13, 2006, including the |
184 | coalition National Unity Government agreed upon in the |
185 | Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan, and does not include |
186 | the regional government of southern Sudan. |
187 | (g) "Inactive business operations" means the mere |
188 | continued holding or renewal of rights to property previously |
189 | operated for the purpose of generating revenues but not |
190 | presently deployed for such purpose. |
191 | (h) "Indirect holdings" in a company means all securities |
192 | of that company which are held in an account or fund, such as a |
193 | mutual fund, managed by one or more persons not employed by the |
194 | Public Fund, in which the Public Fund owns shares or interests |
195 | together with other investors not subject to the provisions of |
196 | this act. |
197 | (i) "Marginalized populations of Sudan" include, but are |
198 | not limited to, the portion of the population in the Darfur |
199 | region who have been genocidally victimized; the portion of the |
200 | population of southern Sudan victimized by Sudan's north-south |
201 | civil war; the Beja, Rashidiya, and other similarly underserved |
202 | groups of eastern Sudan; the Nubian and other similarly |
203 | underserved groups in Sudan's Abyei, Southern Blue Nile, and |
204 | Nuba Mountain regions; and the Amri, Hamadab, Manasir, and other |
205 | similarly underserved groups of northern Sudan. |
206 | (j) "Military equipment" means weapons, arms, military |
207 | supplies, and equipment that readily may be used for military |
208 | purposes, including, but not limited to, radar systems, |
209 | military-grade transport vehicles, or supplies or services sold |
210 | or provided directly or indirectly to any force actively |
211 | participating in armed conflict in Sudan. |
212 | (k) "Mineral-extraction activities" include exploring, |
213 | extracting, processing, transporting, or wholesale selling or |
214 | trading of elemental minerals or associated metal alloys or |
215 | oxides (ore), including gold, copper, chromium, chromite, |
216 | diamonds, iron, iron ore, silver, tungsten, uranium, and zinc, |
217 | as well as facilitating such activities, including, providing |
218 | supplies or services in support of such activities. |
219 | (l) "Oil-related activities" include, but are not limited |
220 | to, owning rights to oil blocks; exporting, extracting, |
221 | producing, refining, processing, exploring for, transporting, |
222 | selling, or trading of oil; constructing, maintaining, or |
223 | operating a pipeline, refinery, or other oil-field |
224 | infrastructure; and facilitating such activities, including |
225 | providing supplies or services in support of such activities, |
226 | except that the mere retail sale of gasoline and related |
227 | consumer products is not considered oil-related activities. |
228 | (m) "Power-production activities" means any business |
229 | operation that involves a project commissioned by the National |
230 | Electricity Corporation (NEC) of Sudan or other similar entity |
231 | of the Government of Sudan whose purpose is to facilitate power |
232 | generation and delivery, including, but not limited to, |
233 | establishing power-generating plants or hydroelectric dams, |
234 | selling or installing components for the project, providing |
235 | service contracts related to the installation or maintenance of |
236 | the project, as well as facilitating such activities, including |
237 | providing supplies or services in support of such activities. |
238 | (n) "Public Fund" means all funds, assets, trustees, and |
239 | other designates under the State Board of Administration. |
240 | (o) "Scrutinized company" means any company that meets any |
241 | of the following criteria: |
242 | 1. The company has business operations that involve |
243 | contracts with or provision of supplies or services to the |
244 | Government of Sudan, companies in which the Government of Sudan |
245 | has any direct or indirect equity share, consortiums or projects |
246 | commissioned by the Government of Sudan, or companies involved |
247 | in consortiums or projects commissioned by the Government of |
248 | Sudan and: |
249 | a. More than 10 percent of the company's revenues or |
250 | assets linked to Sudan involve oil-related activities or |
251 | mineral-extraction activities; less than 75 percent of the |
252 | company's revenues or assets linked to Sudan involve contracts |
253 | with or provision of oil-related or mineral-extracting products |
254 | or services to the regional government of southern Sudan or a |
255 | project or consortium created exclusively by that regional |
256 | government; and the company has failed to take substantial |
257 | action; or |
258 | b. More than 10 percent of the company's revenues or |
259 | assets linked to Sudan involve power-production activities; less |
260 | than 75 percent of the company's power-production activities |
261 | include projects whose intent is to provide power or electricity |
262 | to the marginalized populations of Sudan; and the company has |
263 | failed to take substantial action. |
264 | 2. The company is complicit in the Darfur genocide. |
265 | 3. The company supplies military equipment within Sudan, |
266 | unless it clearly shows that the military equipment cannot be |
267 | used to facilitate offensive military actions in Sudan or the |
268 | company implements rigorous and verifiable safeguards to prevent |
269 | use of that equipment by forces actively participating in armed |
270 | conflict. Examples of safeguards include post-sale tracking of |
271 | such equipment by the company, certification from a reputable |
272 | and objective third party that such equipment is not being used |
273 | by a party participating in armed conflict in Sudan, or sale of |
274 | such equipment solely to the regional government of southern |
275 | Sudan or any internationally recognized peacekeeping force or |
276 | humanitarian organization. |
277 |
|
278 | Notwithstanding the provisions of this act, a social-development |
279 | company that is not complicit in the Darfur genocide is not |
280 | considered a scrutinized company. |
281 | (p) "Social-development company" means a company whose |
282 | primary purpose in Sudan is to provide humanitarian goods or |
283 | services, including medicine or medical equipment; agricultural |
284 | supplies or infrastructure, educational opportunities; |
285 | journalism-related activities; information or information |
286 | materials; spiritual-related activities; services of a purely |
287 | clerical or reporting nature; food, clothing, or general |
288 | consumer goods that are unrelated to oil-related activities; |
289 | mineral-extraction activities; or power-production activities. |
290 | (q) "Substantial action" means adopting, publicizing, and |
291 | implementing a formal plan to cease scrutinized business |
292 | operations within 1 year and to refrain from any such new |
293 | business operations; undertaking significant humanitarian |
294 | efforts on behalf of one or more marginalized populations of |
295 | Sudan; or, through engagement with the Government of Sudan, |
296 | materially improving conditions for the genocidally victimized |
297 | population in Darfur. |
298 | (3) IDENTIFICATION OF COMPANIES.-- |
299 | (a) Within 90 days after the effective date of this act, |
300 | the Public Fund shall make its best efforts to identify all |
301 | scrutinized companies in which the Public Fund has direct or |
302 | indirect holdings or could possibly have such holdings in the |
303 | future. Such efforts include: |
304 | 1. Reviewing and relying, as appropriate in the Public |
305 | Fund's judgment, on publicly available information regarding |
306 | companies having business operations in Sudan, including |
307 | information provided by nonprofit organizations, research firms, |
308 | international organizations, and government entities; |
309 | 2. Contacting asset managers contracted by the Public Fund |
310 | which invest in companies having business operations in Sudan; |
311 | or |
312 | 3. Contacting other institutional investors that have |
313 | divested from or engaged with companies that have business |
314 | operations in Sudan. |
315 | (b) By the first meeting of the Public Fund following the |
316 | 90-day period described in paragraph (a), the Public Fund shall |
317 | assemble all scrutinized companies identified into a |
318 | "Scrutinized Companies List." |
319 | (c) The Public Fund shall update the Scrutinized Companies |
320 | List quarterly based on evolving information from, among other |
321 | sources, those listed in paragraph (a). |
322 | (4) REQUIRED ACTIONS.--The Public Fund shall adhere to the |
323 | following procedure for companies on the Scrutinized Companies |
324 | List: |
325 | (a) Engagement.-- |
326 | 1. The Public Fund shall immediately determine the |
327 | companies on the Scrutinized Companies List in which the Public |
328 | Fund owns direct or indirect holdings. |
329 | 2. For each company identified in this paragraph which has |
330 | only inactive business operations, the Public Fund shall send a |
331 | written notice informing the company of this act and encouraging |
332 | it to continue to refrain from initiating active business |
333 | operations in Sudan until it is able to avoid scrutinized |
334 | business operations. The Public Fund shall continue such |
335 | correspondence semiannually. |
336 | 3. For each company newly identified under this paragraph |
337 | which has active business operations, the Public Fund shall send |
338 | a written notice informing the company of its scrutinized |
339 | company status and that it may become subject to divestment by |
340 | the Public Fund. The notice must inform the company of the |
341 | opportunity to clarify its Sudan-related activities and |
342 | encourage the company, within 90 days, to cease its scrutinized |
343 | business operations or convert such operations to inactive |
344 | business operations in order to avoid qualifying for divestment |
345 | by the Public Fund. |
346 | 4. If, within 90 days after the Public Fund's first |
347 | engagement with a company pursuant to this paragraph, that |
348 | company ceases scrutinized business operations, the company |
349 | shall be removed from the Scrutinized Companies List and the |
350 | provisions of this act shall cease to apply to it unless it |
351 | resumes scrutinized business operations. If, within 90 days |
352 | after the Public Fund's first engagement, the company converts |
353 | its scrutinized active business operations to inactive business |
354 | operations, the company is subject to all provisions relating |
355 | thereto. |
356 | (b) Divestment.-- |
357 | 1. If, after 90 days following the Public Fund's first |
358 | engagement with a company pursuant to paragraph (a), the company |
359 | continues to have scrutinized active business operations, and |
360 | only while such company continues to have scrutinized active |
361 | business operations, the Public Fund shall sell, redeem, divest, |
362 | or withdraw all publicly traded securities of the company, |
363 | except as provided in paragraph (d), according to the following |
364 | schedule: |
365 | a. At least 50 percent of such assets shall be removed |
366 | from the Public Fund's assets under management by 9 months after |
367 | the company's most recent appearance on the Scrutinized |
368 | Companies List. |
369 | b. One hundred percent of such assets shall be removed |
370 | from the Public Fund's assets under management within 15 months |
371 | after the company's most recent appearance on the Scrutinized |
372 | Companies List. |
373 | 2. If a company that ceased scrutinized active business |
374 | operations following engagement pursuant to paragraph (a) |
375 | resumes such operations, this paragraph immediately applies, and |
376 | the Public Fund shall send a written notice to the company. The |
377 | company shall also be immediately reintroduced onto the |
378 | Scrutinized Companies List. |
379 | (c) Prohibition.--The Public Fund may not acquire |
380 | securities of companies on the Scrutinized Companies List which |
381 | have active business operations, except as provided in paragraph |
382 | (d). |
383 | (d) Exemption.--A company that the United States |
384 | Government affirmatively declares to be excluded from its |
385 | present or any future federal sanctions regime relating to Sudan |
386 | is not subject to divestment or the investment prohibition |
387 | pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c). |
388 | (e) Excluded securities.--Notwithstanding the provisions |
389 | of this act, paragraphs (b) and (c) do not apply to indirect |
390 | holdings in actively managed investment funds. However, the |
391 | Public Fund shall submit letters to the managers of such |
392 | investment funds containing companies that have scrutinized |
393 | active business operations requesting that they consider |
394 | removing such companies from the fund or create a similar |
395 | actively managed fund having indirect holdings devoid of such |
396 | companies. If the manager creates a similar fund, the Public |
397 | Fund shall replace all applicable investments with investments |
398 | in the similar fund in an expedited timeframe consistent with |
399 | prudent investing standards. For the purposes of this section, a |
400 | private equity fund is deemed to be an actively managed |
401 | investment fund. |
402 | (5) REPORTING.-- |
403 | (a) The Public Fund shall file a report with the Governor, |
404 | the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of |
405 | Representatives, and the Attorney General that includes the |
406 | Scrutinized Companies List within 30 days after the list is |
407 | created. This report shall be made available to the public. |
408 | (b) Annually thereafter, the Public Fund shall file a |
409 | report, which shall be made available to the public, with the |
410 | Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
411 | of Representatives, and the Attorney General and send a copy of |
412 | that report to the United States Presidential Special Envoy to |
413 | Sudan, or an appropriate designee or successor, which includes: |
414 | 1. A summary of correspondence with companies engaged by |
415 | the Public Fund under subparagraphs (4)(a)2. and 3.; |
416 | 2. All investments sold, redeemed, divested, or withdrawn |
417 | in compliance with paragraph (4)(b); |
418 | 3. All prohibited investments under paragraph (4)(c); and |
419 | 4. Any progress made under paragraph (4)(e). |
420 | (6) EXPIRATION.--This act expires upon the occurrence of |
421 | any of the following: |
422 | (a) The Congress or President of the United States |
423 | declares that the Darfur genocide has been halted for at least |
424 | 12 months; |
425 | (b) The United States revokes all sanctions imposed |
426 | against the Government of Sudan; |
427 | (c) The Congress or President of the United States |
428 | declares that the Government of Sudan has honored its |
429 | commitments to cease attacks on civilians, demobilize and |
430 | demilitarize the Janjaweed and associated militias, grant free |
431 | and unfettered access for deliveries of humanitarian assistance, |
432 | and allow for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and |
433 | internally displaced persons; or |
434 | (d) The Congress or President of the United States, |
435 | through legislation or executive order, declares that mandatory |
436 | divestment of the type provided for in this act interferes with |
437 | the conduct of United States foreign policy. |
438 | (7) OTHER LEGAL OBLIGATIONS.--With respect to actions |
439 | taken in compliance with this act, including all good faith |
440 | determinations regarding companies as required by this act, the |
441 | Public Fund is exempt from any conflicting statutory or common |
442 | law obligations, including any such obligations with respect to |
443 | choice of asset managers, investment funds, or investments for |
444 | the Public Fund's securities portfolios. |
445 | (8) REINVESTMENT IN CERTAIN COMPANIES HAVING SCRUTINIZED |
446 | ACTIVE BUSINESS OPERATIONS.--Notwithstanding any other provision |
447 | of this act to the contrary, the Public Fund may cease divesting |
448 | from certain scrutinized companies pursuant to paragraph (4)(b) |
449 | or reinvest in certain scrutinized companies from which it |
450 | divested pursuant to paragraph (4)(b) if clear and convincing |
451 | evidence shows that the value of all assets under management by |
452 | the Public Fund becomes equal to or less than 99.50 percent, or |
453 | 50 basis points, of the hypothetical value of all assets under |
454 | management by the Public Fund assuming no divestment for any |
455 | company had occurred under paragraph (4)(b). Cessation of |
456 | divestment, reinvestment, or any subsequent ongoing investment |
457 | authorized by this act is limited to the minimum steps necessary |
458 | to avoid the contingency set forth in this subsection. For any |
459 | cessation of divestment, reinvestment, or subsequent ongoing |
460 | investment authorized by this act, the Public Fund shall provide |
461 | a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
462 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Attorney |
463 | General in advance of initial reinvestment, updated semiannually |
464 | thereafter as applicable, setting forth the reasons and |
465 | justification, supported by clear and convincing evidence, for |
466 | its decisions to cease divestment, reinvest, or remain invested |
467 | in companies having scrutinized active business operations. This |
468 | act does not apply to reinvestment in companies on the grounds |
469 | that they have ceased to have scrutinized active business |
470 | operations. |
471 | (9) ENFORCEMENT.--The Attorney General shall enforce the |
472 | provisions of this act and may bring any necessary actions in |
473 | court through any lawful designee. |
474 | Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application |
475 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
476 | does not affect other provisions or applications of the act |
477 | which can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
478 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
479 | severable. |
480 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |